Grin opened the door. Hagel was standing outside, and Hilberu poked her golden head out before squeezing her way inside.
Hagel spoke first, “My apologies, Mr. Grin, but I have some things I would like to say to the Princess. It is very important.”
Grin frowned, feeling an inexplicable sense of strangeness. However, considering Hagel’s identity, he likely would not harm Dolores; Grin had witnessed the man’s loyalty in his previous life.
“Could we speak in private?” Hagel continued to ask.
Grin nodded and replied, “You may.”
Turning around, he saw that the already weakened Hilberu was actually trying to shed blood into the dry Blood Cup again. She looked very sneaky about it.
Grin grabbed Hilberu’s hand and said to her, “Hilberu, let’s step out for a moment.”
But Hilberu’s eyes flickered away before looking back at Viseliane on the bed.
“Your body is already very weak. You should know that this is just a futile effort,” Grin continued.
“I know… I just… I just want to calm down…” Hilberu said with a slight stutter.
“By hurting yourself?” Grin asked.
“You can laugh at me, Mr. Grin. I know this act of self-harm is meaningless. I just find it hard to accept the fact that a friend I know is about to leave right before my eyes.”
“Even though it might be useless, I can’t do anything else…”
Hilberu’s voice was low, sounding a bit weak. She didn’t argue or act impulsively; she had actually accepted the truth even before Grin had. She knew what she was doing and accepted that it might be meaningless.
“Viseliane might still be saved. I found a cure after speaking with her just now. You don’t need to hurt yourself anymore, Hilberu.”
When mentioning Hilberu’s name, Grin’s tone was subconsciously gentle, though neither the excited Hilberu nor Grin himself noticed it.
Grin released her hand and walked out the door with Hilberu. He then felt a sound-proofing magic circle activate behind them.
What would Hagel be talking to Dolores about at a time like this? Was it about Viseliane? That was possible; after all, he had known Viseliane before Dolores was even born.
While Grin was lost in thought, Hilberu tugged at the corner of his clothes.
“Mr. Grin, can Viseliane really get better? I can feel an extremely terrifying curse on her. My eyes can see the pitch-blackness overflowing from her.”
Hilberu’s eyes were filled with worry. It was only then that Grin realized this little girl in the nun’s habit was actually the Saintess Hilberu from his previous life. Her current appearance was like that of a pure child, especially while wearing the white nun’s habit.
He remembered the words Dolores had said not long ago. Dolores said she would be fine, and she should be the person who knew herself best. She said the Dolores in her memories would leave a backup plan for her, so such a backup plan truly should exist.
At this moment, his only choice was to believe in Dolores, because she knew far too much compared to him. Furthermore, she seemed to be making many plans and layouts for his own good.
“The curse on Viseliane can be resolved. Dolores said she has a way,” Grin answered Hilberu’s question.
“The Princess…?” Hilberu murmured. She remembered the things Hagel had said to her and recalled Dolores’s reactions along the way. She always felt the Dolores she saw was a naive child like herself, and her intuition always felt a faint sense of unease.
However, that should just be her imagination.
Hilberu pressed her hands together, closed her eyes, and said, “Then I shall pray for Lady Viseliane’s safety. I will pray for her to be well.”
***
“Hagel, do you have something to say to me?” Dolores asked, somewhat confused.
Hagel casually set up a sound-proofing magic circle before replying, “Princess, I have come to deliver something to you.”
As he spoke, Hagel handed over a Prismatic Crystal. Before her rebirth, Dolores had spent all her energy on illustrations and character designs, so she hadn’t had time to draw props that could use common assets.
Thus, she didn’t notice any issues at first glance. She only felt that the item in Hagel’s hand was a bit strange and felt out of place, as if it didn’t belong to this world.
“What is this?” Dolores asked.
“Its name is ‘Brief Sobriety of the Starry Sky.’ This is the name you told me. To be precise, it is an item you asked me to commission someone to build when you were a child,” Hagel explained.
“Brief Sobriety… Brief Sobriety of the Starry Sky…”
Muttering the name, Dolores finally remembered where she had heard it. This was an item in the game that could lower Affection Levels. It was tucked into the **[Unswerving]** Affection Level series of tasks by the System as a reward.
But what did Hagel mean when he said she had commissioned it as a child? Commissioning a game item when she was a child?
When she was a child…?
In other words… the “Dolores” before she transmigrated here? The so-called “Original Owner”?
“Although I expected it, Your Highness, your appearance has seemed like that of a different person ever since you met Mr. Grin that time.”
Hagel spoke with emotion. Seeing Dolores’s expression turn visibly stiff, he immediately continued to explain, “There is no need to worry. You gave me hints about your changes long ago. I have always believed in you, Princess.”
“Perhaps you have forgotten some of the things you said, but I will still do as you instructed, including delivering this into your hands at this time.”
“The craftsman who built it said it possesses the ability to instantly clear the mind.”
Hagel paused suddenly. After Dolores took the item he offered, he continued speaking.
“Princess, do you remember? You once asked me a strange question.”
“What was it?”
“During a walk, you asked me, ‘Hagel, do you leave any room for regret in the future you’ve planned for yourself?'”
“The day after you said that, you commissioned me to find someone to build this item and agreed on a time for it to be delivered to you.”
“The time for delivery is right now.”
After Hagel finished speaking, a long silence fell between the two of them.
The excuse she had prepared to deceive Grin had unexpectedly become reality at this moment. The so-called “Original Owner” she had “replaced” might still be the “Dolores of the past.”
That “Dolores of the past” had indeed left room for regret for her.
This… was truly unexpected.
“Hagel, did touching it remind you of anything?” Dolores asked suddenly.
Hagel lowered his head for a moment, then straightened his chest and replied, “I remembered some things from the past, Your Highness. However, I will continue to carry out my duty of protecting the Kingdom until death.”
“The things I saw only make me more determined in my heart. Do not worry about me.”
When a Strategy Character touched an affection item, there was a chance they would recall things from their previous life, whether positive or negative. Hagel understood everything clearly as well.
“Princess, I must take my leave.”
After speaking, Hagel bowed and prepared to leave. Before he could exit the door, Dolores called out to him.
“Hagel, do you have any advice?”
Hagel turned back and looked at her with a complicated gaze before speaking, “Princess, I have no advice, because… this is a choice you left for yourself.”
“All choices can only come from your own will.”
As Hagel left, he conveniently closed the door. Dolores looked down; in her left hand was the pill Grin had given her, and in her right hand was the Prismatic Crystal Hagel had given her.
Hadn’t she been looking forward to getting rid of the System? Hadn’t she felt that the System wasn’t giving her a chance to choose?
Now, she possessed the opportunity to choose… No… In truth, she had already made her choice. It was just that Hagel’s appearance had caused her to hesitate.
Dolores walked to Viseliane’s side. The latter’s face was completely devoid of color. She placed her hand on the other’s cheek; it was excessively cold.
“So cold, Viseliane.”
She reached her fingers to the other’s nose. Fortunately, there was still a faint breath.
Dolores walked around her room for a short while with her head lowered, then stopped at her desk. She opened her diary. It was written in square characters — content that people of this world would not be able to understand.
‘I won’t hide this diary. I used to think writing a diary was a foolish thing, but I did it anyway…’
She took out one small piece of Memory Crystal, which could record sound. She opened her mouth and whispered some words. The crystal was a beautiful blue.
Finally, Dolores looked at Viseliane.
“I never thought that one day I would lose my fear of death.”
“Wasn’t it agreed that those who have experienced a painful death should crave living even more…?”
On Dolores’s desk sat a notebook, a Memory Crystal, a pill, and a Prismatic Crystal.
She still remembered her first reaction when she discovered she had been reborn while in the throes of the fear of death:
‘It wasn’t easy to live another life.’
‘So, I want to live well.’
***
Grin, who was waiting outside, saw Hagel come out. Hagel said he still had some matters to attend to and added that they should not disturb Dolores for now.
Grin and Hilberu waited outside for a short while.
The System’s voice rang in his mind.
**[Dolores Favorability Task: Unswerving]**
**[Task Requirement: Survive 5 seconds]**
**[Task Reward: Unlock Dolores Affection Level: Unswerving, Dolores Affection Level: Like stage favorability * 1, Unlock Dolores: Retrospection memories, and unlock 10% of System’s full functionality]**
Grin wore a bewildered expression. He looked toward Dolores’s room, but the new System voice continued to ring out.
**[Task completion countdown: 5… 4… 3…]**
**[2…]**
**[1…]**
A moment later, the task notification appeared.
**[Completed]**